The present invention relates to apparatus for viewing and sorting photographic slides, and more particularly, to an apparatus for sorting said slides into two or more separate stacks.
Photographic slides are currently mounted in two-inch by two-inch frames made of cardboard or plastic material for holding the slide during viewing and projection. Furthermore, the transparencies may be mounted between plates of glass. When slides are viewed without projection they are placed in a viewing device, possibly having an optical lens which magnifies the photograph while the slide is being illuminated from the rear by a light source. An example of such a device is the Cook U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,869. In this patent slides are received in an upper compartment in a stack, are carried by means of a slide holder to a viewing compartment which is back-lighted by a light source. The slides are then transported upward and dropped into a lower compartment which receives the viewed slides.
An alternative approach is that of the Rideout U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,814 in which slides are stacked in an upper compartment and drop onto a slide carrier. The slides are then transported horizontally to a viewing station which is back-lighted by a light source. After viewing, the slides are further transported into a lower compartment where the viewed slides are stacked. Neither of these patents provide any means for sorting slides into different stacks.
When sorting slides, photographers generally use a large, back-lighted diffusing screen made of opaque plastic or ground glass. The slides are placed on the screen and viewed by means of a hand-held magnifying glass. Slides can then be sorted on the screen and arranged in a desired sequence. The slides are then manually picked up and placed into different stacks.
Another way of sorting slides is by use of a slide tray during projection. For example, a gravity-fed projector utilizing a circular rotating slide tray, such as that shown in the Robinson U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,314. Slides may be removed from the tray after viewing by projection and placed in stacks or placed in an empty tray slot. This method is cumbersome and requires the use of a projector and a suitable screen.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple slide-viewing device which can also be used to sort slides into different stacks.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a slide-viewing device which operates by force of gravity, thereby eliminating the need for complicated mechanisms.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a slide viewing device in which the slides can be viewed by a hand-held magnifying glass.
Briefly, the above objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention by providing a slide viewer having a chute oriented on an incline to horizontal which is adapted to receive a photographic slide at one end thereof. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a detent is provided for restraining the slide when in a first position and for releasing the slide when in a second position. In this manner, the slide is held at a viewing station for viewing.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a stacking tray is provided at the lower end of the chute, forming a compartment into which viewed slides are dropped after being released by the restraining latch.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the invention, a second tray is positioned below the first tray such that when the first tray is moved away from the end of the chute, the slides drop into the second tray. This way, slides may be sorted into two different stacks, one in the first tray, and one in the second tray.
Additionally, the second tray may be provided with a number of bins, such that slides can be sorted into a number of different stacks by moving the tray to position different bins under the end of the chute.
The invention has the advantage that it contains very few moving parts, relying solely on the force of gravity to transport the slides.